Shoe heel



P. s. BAUER SHOE HEEL April 27, 1937.

Filed Dec.-3, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 April 27, 1937. RSBAUER if-2,078,626

SHOE HEEL Fild Dec. '3, 1934 s sheets-sheep 2 I "Inn P. S. BAUER SHOEHEEL April 27, 1937.

Filed Dec. 3, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I Invenibr;

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Patented Apr. 27, 1937 UNITED STAT PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe heels and while it is especially adaptedfor golfers shoes it may also be used on baseball and other athleticshoes.

According to the generally approved form in the swing of a golf club,- aright-handed player shifts his weight to his right foot, bends his leftknee, twists his body and throws his right hip as far back as possiblein the wind-up to obtain the greatest depth to his swing; and then makesthe downstroke in the reverse of the foregoing movements with the headof his club traveling as near as possible in the so-called groove of thewind-up. When the right hip is thrown backward the weight on the rightfoot is shifted to the heel and to the outside rear of the heel with theinside of the toe more or less raised. During both the wind-up and thedownstroke of the swing the players head is held in an anchored positionwith his eyes on the ball. It

is essential to the perfection of the swing that the weight of theplayer be properly balanced during these movements. If the player iswearing a shoe with an ordinary heel his right foot will rock on thesharp outer edge of the heel with more or less instability, dependingupon the skill and experience of the player. It is recognized thatprofessionals and other ex perienced players, and also many youngplayers, are able to shift their weight during the windup and downstrokeof the swing as above described with an even and stable rolling movementof the right foot and heel, but with most players the tendency is torock instead of roll on the sharp edge of the heel with the result thatthe depth of their swing is correspondingly lessened. Furthermore, thesharp edge of the heel will sink into the turf of a golf course and tendto throw the player off balance and interfere with his swing both in thewind-up and the downstroke.

' It is an object of my invention to enable the player to roll hisweight from the flat foot positionatstance onto the outer side rear ofhis right heel in the wind-up of the swing to obtain the greatestpossible depth, and then to roll his weight back again on the downstrokeof the swing and provide throughout the swing'a substantial support forthe weight of the player.

Another object is to form a solid substantial 0 support for the wearerin walking and one which will yield when the weight of the wearer isshifted to the outer side rear of his heel during the wind-up of theswing .of a club and return to normal position on the downstroke of theAnother object is to provide a heel with a yieldable projection at thebottom on its outer side rear to form a substantial support for theplayer during the swing of his club and enable the player to shift hisweight with a rolling action as distinguished from a rocking action onhis heel.

And a further object is to aid the downstroke of the swing byaccelerating the kick-oif, which is the initial part of the downstroke.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated selected embodiments ofthe invention for the purposes of this application and referring theretoFig. 1 illustrates the position of a golf player at the wind-up of theswing and shows my in vention embodied in the heel of his right shoe;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a shoe showing the invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the spring plate;

Fig. 4 is a side view and Fig. 5 is a back view of a shoe embodying theinvention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 1-! of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a back view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the shoe tilted andthe projection on the heel bent;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 7 but showing a rubberinsert instead of the spring plate;

Fig. 11 is a side view of a shoe showing another embodiment of myinvention;

Fig. 12 is a bottom plan view and Fig. 13 is a rear view ofthe heelportion of the shoe shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a rubber heel having the sideprojection;

Fig. 15 is a transverse sectional view of the heel portion of a shoeshowing a heel similar to that of Figs. 11-1 l but made up of aplurality of lifts; and

Figs. 16 and 17 show other forms of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that when a golfplayer reaches the end of the wind-up of the swing his body will beslightly twisted, his right hip will be thrown back considerably, hisweight will be supported principally on the outer side rear of his rightheel, his left heel will be raised, his left knee will be bent, and hisbody will be steadied by holding the toe of his left foot on the ground.My invention enables the player to assume this position by a smooth,easy and confident movement with his right heel always supported firmlyand substantially to move with a rolling action to and from extremepositions.

I provide a projection I on the heel 2 of the shoe to form a rollingsupport for the player in going through the movements of the swing. As Ihave stated, the weight of the player is shifted to the outer side rearof the right heel during the swing and consequently I provide thisprojection at the outer side rear of the heel of the right shoe, whichis where the outer side merges with the back of the heel. The length andwidth of this projection may be varied to suit different conditions butit should always be sufficient to provide a rolling support for theplayer during the wind-up and during the downstroke of the swing. I havefound it a desirable form of the invention to extend the projection tothe forward edge 3 (Fig. 2) of the heel but it may be tapered off at theforward portion or terminated back of the forward edge of the heel ifdesired.

In the preferred form of my invention, Figs. 4 and 5, the projection Iis provided on the bottom lift 5 of the heel and a spring metal plate 6is interposed between the bottom lift and the next above lift I. Thisplate 6 may conform to the shape of the bottom lift as shown in Fig. 3or it may be in the form of a section 8 as shown in Fig. 6, shaped andsized to correspond with the projection I and as much of'the adjacentpart of the bottom lift as may be necessary for secure fastening. Themetal plate in the full form of Fig. 3 or in the sectional form of Fig.6 is secured in the heel and the heel is secured to the sole 9 of theshoe in any suitable manner in accordance with the usual practice ofshoe manufacture. For this purpose I have shown nails II] passingthrough the heel, including the plate, solely for the purpose ofindicating some fastening means. The. plate should be provided withsuitably disposed openings II to receive the fastening devices. Theusual spikes I2 may be secured in the bottom lift according to wellknownpractice.

The projection I extends sufficiently beyond the body of the heel tobend under the weight of the player as he shifts his weight to the rightside rear of the heel in the wind-up of the swing, as shown in Fig. 8.This projection with the part of the lower lift adjacent thereto, andincluding the spring plate, constitutes a rolling support of substantialarea for the player and enables him to effect this shift of weightwithout being thrown off balance. The heel moves with a rolling actionand the projection provides a substantial area of contact with the.ground. Since the weight of the player is shifted to the right side ofthe heel and to the rear thereof the bottom lift of the heel and themetal plate will bend over a substantial area where the projection Ijoins the body of the bottom lift. This provides a substantialfoundation for the player to support his weight and enables the movementto be made to the full depth of the wind-up and in the kick-off andfirst part of the downstroke without disturbing the balance of theplayer and in a smooth, even, continuous movement.

I also prefer to provide the heel with a recess I 3 opposite theprojection in the lift immediately above-the metal plate. I also preferto fill this recess with soft rubber I4 or other yielding material toprevent it from filling up with dirt. The recess and the soft fillingenable the lower lift and metal plate to bend more easily and over a.

greater area as indicated in Fig. 8. Instead of recessing the lift I ofthe heel, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, 7 and 8, I may substitute a lift 1'which is reduced in size, and insert a rubber filler I5 alongside thelift I to fill out its size and correspond with the next above lift, andin this form of the invention I may dispense with the metal plate, Fig.10.

In the forms of the invention heretofore described, I have made thatportion of the heel flexible which supports the weight of the player inreaching the extreme. depth of the swing, that is to say, the right siderear of the heel. I make it flexible so that it will yield to themovement and weight of the player and provide a substantial support forthe player over a comusual kind. The smooth rolling action enables theplayer to make this movement and extend his right hip back farther toget greaterdepth to his swing than would be possible if he were wearingan ordinary heel, and the ease of the movement enables it to beperformed without affecting his balance as would be likely to happen ifhe were wearing an ordinary heel.

While I prefer the flexible form of heel heretofore described, it ispossible to obtain some of the advantages of my invention by the formsillustrated in Figs. 11-15. Referring thereto Figs. ll-14 show rubberheels I6 having the projection I! as previously described. Theprojection portion of the heel I 6 is cut away orrecessed at I8 on itslower face and at its outer edge to provide some rolling actionwhentheweight of the player is shifted to the outside rear of his heel. Fig.15 shows a leather heel I9 made like the rubber heel I6 of Fig. 13..While the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 11-15 are desirablebecause they give a substantial support to the wearer in walking andalso in shifting his weight and position during the swing, they do notafford the flexibility of the preferred forms of the invention shown inFigs. l-lG. However, they may be useful for some purposes whereflexibility is not important. 1

The heel may be made of solid rubber with a projection I without themetal plate 6, recess I 3 or filler, as shown in Fig. 1'7, or it can bemade of rubber lifts with a metal plate 6, recess I3' and filler,similar to Fig. 5.

The inner side of the heel may be cut away as at 20, Fig. 16, tocompensate, in part at least, for the added weight of the projection andplate. This will also provide for a rolling action on the inner side ofthe heel duringthe'downstroke and as the weight of the player is shiftedaccordingly.

The invention enables an ordinary player to which is referred to as thekick-off and aids the player in performing that part of the swing.Leather heels with spikes are considered to be the most desirable andserviceable heels for golf and some other forms of athletic shoes butthe invention is not restricted to leather heels and may be embodiedwith heels of other materials which are adapted for the purpose. Theinvention may be embodied in complete shoes or in heels sold separately,like rubber heels, to be fastened to shoes. I have described theinvention as if it were embodied in the heel of the right shoe worn by aright-handed player and it will be readily understood that for aleft-handed player the invention should be embodied in the outer siderear of the heel of the left shoe.

I have shown the parts in forms which I now consider desirable but itmay be found desirable to vary the form, construction and arrangement ofparts to adapt the invention to shoes of different kinds and fordifferent sports, and I reserve the right to make all such changes asfall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe heel having a yielding projection extending the full length ofthe outer side and part of the rear thereof to aid in supporting thewearer and in preserving his balance when the weight of the wearer isshifted onto that part of the heel.

2. A shoe heel having a laterally extending yielding projectionextending the full length of the outer side and part of the rear thereofto aid in supporting the wearer and in preserving his balance when theWeight of the wearer is shifted onto that part of the heel.

3. A shoe heel having a yielding projection extending from the bottompart and extending the full length of the outer side and part of therear thereof to aid in supporting the wearer and in preserving hisbalance when the weight of the wearer is shifted onto that part of theheel.

4. A shoe heel comprising a bottom lift and a yielding projectionextending the full length of the outer side and part of the rear of saidbottom lift to aid in supporting the wearer and in preserving hisbalance when the weight of the wearer is shifted onto that part of theheel.

5. A shoe heel having a bottom lift, a projection at the outer side rearof said bottom lift, and

a yielding plate secured in the heel above said projection.

6. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a recess above said bottom liftextending the full length of the outer side and part of the rear of theheel, and a projection on the bottom lift opposite said recess.

'7. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a recess above said bottom liftextending the full length of the outer side and part of the rear of theheel, and a yielding projection on said bottom lift opposite saidrecess.

8. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a yielding projection on saidbottom lift at the outer side rear thereof, and a spring metal platesecured in the heel above said projection.

9. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a yielding projection on saidbottom lift at the outer side rear thereof, and a spring metal platesecured in the heel above said projection, said heel being recessedabove said plate opposite said projection.

10. A shoe heel having a bottom lift, a yielding projection on saidbottom lift extending the full length of the outer side and part of therear thereof, and a yielding cushion above said bottom lift and oppositesaid projection.

11. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a yielding projection on saidbottom lift extending the full length of the outer side and part of therear thereof, said heel being recessed above the bottom lift oppositesaid projection, and a cushion filler in said recess.

12. A shoe heel having a bottom lift and a recess above thebottom liftextending along a part of the outer side and a part of the back of theheel, a projection on the outer side and rear of the bottom liftopposite said recess, and a rubber cushion in said recess.

13. A shoe heel having a lateral yielding projection extending the fulllength of the outer side and part of the rear thereof and having itsinner side edge cut away.

14. A shoe heel of standard shape being fiat on the bottom and having alateral projection extending the full length of the outer side and partof the rear thereof, said projection being cut away on its bottom at itsouter edge.

PERRY S. BAUER.

